Karl Sheppard 'surprised at narrative' about Shelbourne's opening game defeat

Former striker Karl Sheppard believes Shelbourne's openness at the back when they lose possession is a concern if it persists as the new season continues.

Shels are back in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division with a high-profile great of Irish soccer in Damien Duff in as a first-time manager, and while their opening game against St Patrick's Athletic saw an adventurous approach in attack, the Tolka Park side fell to a 3-0 defeat at home in Friday night's opener.

Speaking after the game, Duff exuded some of the positives he saw from his young side who are only coming together after a busy winter of incomings and outgoings.

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But the way in which Shels were opened up by a quality Pat's outfit after giving the ball away is something Sheppard feels needs to be addressed, as he told Monday's RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

"I was quite surprised with the narrative after the game of how well Shels did," he said.

"When you look at it, it could very easily have been five or six. I'd be slightly worried with how open Shels are when they lose the ball.

"They're very good on the eye and they try to play nice football and in fairness on a pitch that was quite poor, but when they lose it they're extremely open.

Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can watch Gary Rogers and Karl Sheppard's full review of the opening weekend below as well as an in-depth interview with Zack Elbouzedi:

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